


Love Makes the World Go Round

by JetGirl1832, tomatopudding



Series: The Hamilton Family Album [14]
Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Falling In Love, Love, Romance, Saying I Love You
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-07
Updated: 2017-07-21
Packaged: 2018-11-28 22:14:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,515
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11427276
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JetGirl1832/pseuds/JetGirl1832, https://archiveofourown.org/users/tomatopudding/pseuds/tomatopudding
Summary: Falling in love is quite the experience, and for each of the Schuyler sisters they fall into it in their own way.





	1. Why Deny It?

"Eliza are you okay?" Peggy asked noticing the almost sorrowful look on her older sister's face. 

"I'm fine," Eliza sighed.

"You don't look fine," Peggy furrowed her brow, "is it Alex? Did he do something? I swear to god if he-"

"Peggy," Eliza sighed, "Alex didn't do anything... It's just..."

"Come on, Eliza," Angelica prodded as she brought over three glasses of wine, "Spill."

The three girls were at Angelica's off-campus apartment for their usual appointment. Every two weeks, they got together to catch up. This had been going on since Peggy had joined her sisters at Columbia. 

Eliza knew there was no way she'd be able to keep her feelings to herself.

"Well Alex is graduating next semester," Eliza sighed reaching for one of the glasses.

"Your point?" Angelica questioned as she sat gracefully. 

"I'm just sad that I won't see him around campus anymore," said Eliza, "It sounds silly when I say it out loud..."

"I swear to god if he pulls the whole 'I'm dumping you ‘cause I'm going to Harvard Law' bullshit-" Peggy practically growled.

"Peggy!" Angelica cut her off, "He's not going to do that."

Eliza brushed a tear from her eye, "I'm really going to miss him," she sighed.

"Hey," Angelica soothed, "it's not like you'll never see him again. Knowing Alex, he'll probably call you on the phone every day and he loves this city so he'll definitely come back during breaks."

"But it's not the same," Eliza sighed.

"Have you talked to him at all about it?" Angelica asked, "Might not be a bad idea."

"I don't want to seem clingy," Eliza hedged. 

"You've been dating for a couple years already," said Peggy, "he probably feels the same way, but is to afraid to bring it up because men are allergic to emotions."

Eliza chuckled slightly, "True. But see, the thing is..." she was trying to say something, something that had been going through her head for several months already, but she hadn't gotten up the courage to say aloud even to herself, "This thing is, I love him. And I don't mean that lightly. I am in love with him."

It was equal parts terrifying and exciting to say it to her sisters and Eliza couldn't imagine what it would feel like to say it to Alex.

"And you haven't told him..." Peggy raised her brow.

Eliza shook her head, "I mean we've said 'I love you' lots of times but it feels different now, at least for me."

Her sisters were quiet for a long moment and Eliza looked up she found them both just watching her. 

"I can't say that I know what you mean," Angelica said slowly, "but it seems to me that this is something you need to bring up with Alex. If he feels the same, then that's great. If he doesn't," she paused, "then it's probably time to move on."

"That's part of what worries me about telling him," admitted Eliza, "because I don't want it to be the end. Did I ever tell you guys that John came to talk to me after Alex and I started dating?"

"John Laurens?" Peggy asked. She was much newer to Columbia and didn't really know the extent of Alex and John's background together.

"The one and only," Eliza confirmed.

"He and Alex dated for a while," explained Angelica, "and the only person who actually believed that John has gotten over Alex is Alex himself."

Peggy let out a small gasp and Angelica elbowed her as a sign to keep quiet.

"Is that where all this stress is coming from?" Angelica asked taking Eliza's hand and giving it a gentle squeeze.

 

"John warned me," Eliza started, then rushed to continue when she saw the stormy expression begin to build behind Angelica's eyes, "He didn't warn me away from dating Alex. Don't even think that. You know John doesn't have a vindictive bone in his body, he would never do that."

Angelica sighed, but nodded. 

"He warned me about loving Alex," Eliza said softly, "That it's a dangerous thing to do because Alex can be oblivious both to his feelings and to the feelings of others and that can be painful to be caught up in."

Angelica sighed, "Well it's probably best for you to choose what's best on your own, not that you'll listen to me."

"I'll take any and all advice I can get," said Eliza. 

"I agree with what Annie said before," Peggy piped up, "You need to tell Alex how you feel and make a decision based on how he reacts to that."

"Okay," Eliza stiffened, "Annie can I borrow your phone?"

"You're doing this now?" Peggy asked.

"I have to know," Eliza replied, "and he's probably just in his dorm studying anyway."

"You really should do this in person," said Angelica, "You can't see his facial expression over the phone and that'll tell you more than his words ever will."

"You're right," Eliza got to her feet, "wish me luck."

Before she left, Eliza pulled each of her sisters into a tight hug. 

"No matter what happens, we love you," Peggy said, "And if he breaks your heart, I'll break his face."

Eliza laughed.

\----------

Eliza hesitated for a moment outside Alex's door before forcing herself to knock.

The door opened after a few long moments. 

"Eliza," Alex said, surprised, "I thought you were with your sisters tonight."

"I was," Eliza shuffled her feet, "Alex we need to talk."

A dark look crossed Alex's face and Eliza regretted her choice of words, “Let me rephrase that."

"Maybe you should come in," Alex said, stepping aside to let her do just that. 

They were silent all the way to Alex's bedroom. Lafayette and Herc were playing some board game in the common area, but they were too into it to notice the two of them passing. John appeared to be absent. 

Alex gestured for her to sit, but Eliza declined. 

"I need to talk to you about something," Eliza began, "something important. I love you, Alex."

"I love you too," Alex replied, confusion coloring his voice. 

"No, Alex," interrupted Eliza, "I mean that I am in love with you and I need to know if you feel the same because you're graduating and going who knows where for law school, so if we're going to be separated for long amounts of time I need to know where I stand with you and whether I should just move on."

Alex was silent for long enough that Eliza started to get worried. When she looked up, however, she saw his eyes were shining.

Alex let out a sigh, "I was going to surprise you," his voice shook slightly, "but I think this needs to be said," he took Eliza's hands, "I'm staying."

"What?" Eliza blinked.

"Eliza, I love you too, I really do," Alex said, "So I'm staying at Columbia for law school. Professor Washington has already agreed to be my advisor and I got in ages ago. I was even thinking of getting an apartment off campus. The two of us, I mean. If you want."

"Really?" Eliza began to smile, "Do you mean it?"

"Of course I mean it," Alex said, cupping Eliza's face in his hands and pressing a gentle kiss to her lips, "I love you Eliza and I want us to be together for a long time."

Eliza smiled before throwing her arms around him, "Good," she whispered in his ear, "now Peggy won't break your face."


	2. At Least Out Loud I Won't Say It

Angelica's heart was pounding in her chest. Not only had the paper sent her all the way to London to cover a high profile embezzlement case, she was leading the reporting team. She was in charge of deciding which questions to ask and who to talk to. She even had her own photographer who followed a few steps behind her and snapped pictures wherever she went.

One of the people on her list was a man by the name of John Church, the only problem was that she didn't know who he was.

Angelica took a deep breath as she stepped into the bank lobby and pulled at the bottom of her blazer to straighten it. Several minutes later after asking three different bank employees, Angelica was finally directed to the correct wing of offices. 

On the door was a fancy brass placard that read "John B. Church.” 

Angelica inhaled deeply and knocked on the door firmly.

"Come in!"

Taking another cleansing breath, Angelica stepped into the office. John Church was sitting behind his desk, focused on his computer screen. The first thing she noticed about him was the deep brown color of his eyes when he looked up at her. 

"Can I help you?"

"Angelica Schuyler," Angelica began, "I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions."

John glanced at her notepad and furrowed his brow, "If you're with the press get out."

"But-"

"Out," John spoke even more sharply, but Angelica met his gaze just as strongly.

"And what if I don't?" Angelica folded her arms across her chest.

"I don't have time to deal with you right now," John was now glowering.

"I'm not leaving."

John shook his head, "You must be new at this."

Angelica began to blush and lose her composure, "N-no I'm not," she stammered.

"A seasoned journalist would not have come in here full steam ahead the way you did," John replied, "and while I do appreciate that-"

"Answer my questions, then I'll leave and you'll never have to see me again," Angelica interrupted him.

"Really?" John leaned back in his chair, he then gestured for Angelica to sit in the once across from him and glanced at his watch, "Alright Ms. Schuyler, you have ten minutes, your time starts now."

Angelica was so flustered by his sharp tone and completely closed off demeanor, that she wasn't really able to get into a good groove with her questions and by the end her cheeks were burning with anger and embarrassment. 

"That's your ten, Ms. Schuyler," Church said firmly, "Goodbye."

"I am trying to do my job, Mr. Church," Angelica told him hotly, allowing her emotions to get the better of her, "unlike you when you allowed such blatant embezzlement to occur right under your nose without doing anything to stop it!"

He gaped at her, stuttering out some syllables that never coalesced into any sort of word. Angelica felt a sense of smug satisfaction as she pulled out one of the business cards that had her U.K. office phone number and extension on it, placing it on his desk with a smirk before turning on her heel and leaving. It wasn't until she got back out of the bank that the swift beating of her heart caught up with her and she realized how utterly unprofessional and accusatory she had just been. If John Church called to complain to her boss, she could definitely get in trouble for the way she had treated him. Crap.

\----------

Her hotel room phone rang several hours after the disastrous interview only her photographer and the local office of the newspaper had this number, so it was a bit of a shock when John Church's voice came over the line. 

 

"Ms. Schuyler?"

Angelica froze she was at a loss of what to say, "I uhh..."

"This is Ms. Schuyler's room, correct?" John continued.

"Yes," Angelica replied, her brow furrowed in confusion. 

"It's John Church, from this earlier?" he said, then cleared his throat, "I wanted to, er, apologize for earlier. It's been a long day and I know that's not really excuse but I feel horrible for how I treated you when we spoke. I would like, if you will allow me, to meet with you again and start over. Perhaps not on bank premises? As you can imagine, the back offices are not a fantastic environment at the moment."

"Okay," Angelica bit her lip.

"I know a place," John spoke up, "and we can try this interview of yours again, perhaps give you something better to work with."

 

"Alright, fine," agreed Angelica, "Where did you have in mind?"

He gave her the name of a pub near the hotel and they agreed to meet there in half an hour.

When Angelica arrived at the pub she found John sitting there looking at his watch obviously waiting for her.

"Sorry I'm late, Mr. Church," Angelica said as she sat across from him at the table, "My boss called me and I got a bit sidetracked."

"It's no problem," he replied, half standing to reach over and shake her hand, "and do feel free to call me Jay."

"Alright, Jay," Angelica shook his hand.

"So you ready for that interview?" Jay asked.

"I think first I owe you an apology for earlier as well," Angelica said, "What I said before I left was completely out of line."

Jay chuckled, "I accept your apology, Ms. Schuyler. Now that we've both gotten that out of the way, I do believe that we're ready to begin."

"It's Angelica, and I believe that you're right."

Angelica withdrew her pad and pen, "Alright, interview with John Church take two."

It certainly went much more smoothly this time around. Angelica didn't get flustered and Jay supplied very informative responses. Once they were finished, Angelica consented to stay for a drink and Jay brought two pints of beer back from the bar.

"So we've spent a lot of time talking about me," Jay leaned forward, "why don't you tell me a little about you."

"That's not usually how these kinds of interviews work." Angelica reached for her glass.

Jay shrugged, "As far as I can tell, the interview portion of the evening is over."

Angelica began to blush, "I suppose so."

"So?" Jay raised his brow, "What can you tell me about you?"

"I can tell you that I'm not looking to go on any dates right now," Angelica told him. 

"No strings, just curiosity," said Jay, a small smile quirking his lips.

Angelica raised her brow incredulously, "I'm from New York and on assignment. Not much else to say."

"Okay," Jay said, raising his hand in surrender, "I can take a hint. No personal questions."

Angelica primly took a sip of her beer hiding her small grimace at the taste.

 

\----------

 

That night they parted ways and Angelica assumed that was that, she would finish up her story and and perhaps she would soon be on her way home. She gave very little thought to John Church other than the information he'd given her during his interview.

After the article was written, edited, proofed, and published, a new assignment came in and Angelica found herself planning to stay in London for the foreseeable future. She moved from the hotel to a small flat in central London.

She found herself settling into her life nicely, and today was her day off so she decided it was time to get some groceries.

 

Angelica was looking through the pre-made sandwiches as she contemplated getting one for a lunch when she was interrupted by a familiar voice. 

"If you want a true English classic, I'd go with the ploughman."

Angelica didn't have to look over her shoulder to see that it was John Church.

"Thanks," she said, grabbing one, "So. Jay. What are you doing here?"

"Do you own this Tesco?" Jay chuckled, "Grabbing some lunch, same as you. The bank is only a block away from here, you know."

Once again Angelica was blushing around Jay and she was surprised she hadn't thought about that before, but he was right.

"I thought you would have gone home by now," Jay replied picking up a sandwich for himself, "I read your article by the way."

"You did?" Angelica felt her cheeks get warmer.

"It was very good," Jay spoke casually.

"I know," Angelica replied, for some reason feeling embarrassed by the praise, "Thanks."

She continued to move along the shelves, half hoping that Jay would leave and secretly pleased that he was going in the same direction as her.

"I would have figured that you'd be back in the States by now," said Jay.

"Not quite yet," Angelica murmured grabbing a box of cereal.

"Another assignment then?" Jay asked.

"Yes," confirmed Angelica. 

"Any hints on the topic?" 

Angelica simply flashed him a small smile and started pushing her cart--or "trolley" as the Brits would say--towards the checkout lanes. 

"I'll read it when it comes out," Jay called after her, but this time he didn't follow. 

The smile didn't leave Angelica's face her whole way back to her flat.

From then on Angelica kept on seeing Jay in what seemed like everywhere she went, and every time she did it made her smile.

He was always cordial and kind, and she found herself responding to him more and more often. Soon enough, they were having full fledged conversations and had gone on several friendly lunches before Jay tried asking her out again. This time, Angelica said yes.

\----------

It was strange for her to be back in the US. The accent seemed so harsh after the year and a half she had been surrounded by the rounded and soft British vowels. It wasn't that she felt more attuned to British sensibilities or anything like that, it was simply a bit of a shock.

"Angelica!"

Angelica glanced up at Peggy who'd been talking and was now frowning, "You're not paying attention."

"Sorry," Angelica said, shaking her head slightly, "I'm listening, I promise."

"Mhmmm..." Peggy pursed her lips.

"You definitely been more distracted than usual," Eliza put in, "Something on your mind?"

"Yes," Angelica admitted, "but it's not my turn to share."

Since this was the first year that the three sisters hadn't been in the same country for the entire year so they had decided to take turns sharing their stories and news, going from youngest to oldest.

"Which means it's Liza's turn," Peggy grinned, "How is married life treating you?"

"Well, as it happens I also have some news," Eliza replied, her cheeks coloring, "Big, important news."

"Big, important news," Angelica repeated, "Well, you definitely have my attention."

"Spill!" Peggy exclaimed.

Eliza inhaled, "I'm pregnant."

Angelica's eyes went wide, "Did you just say what I think you said?"

Eliza nodded, her eyes crinkling in the corners as a huge grin spread across her face. Peggy squealed with delight and launched herself into Eliza's arms. 

"Oh my god, I'm gonna be an aunt!" exclaimed Peggy, "I'm so excited! Ahh!"

"Peggy chill!" Angelica laughed.

"Oh like you're not excited?" Peggy asked still embracing Eliza.

"Of course I'm excited," said Angelica, placing a hand on Eliza's shoulder, "I'm so happy for you, Liza. Alex must be over the moon."

"I think you mean over the moon and beyond," Eliza laughed, "he can't stop talking about his son, and that's what he's decided even though we have no way of knowing for sure at the moment."

"That sounds like Alex," Peggy chirped, finally sitting back in her seat, "How far along are you anyway?"

"About three months," Eliza said, "which is why I am officially allowed to tell people."

"Are we the first?" Angelica asked. 

Eliza shook her head, "Nope, sorry. I had to tell mom first."

"Fair dues," Angelica said with a nod. 

"That is such a British phrase," giggled Peggy, "Which means that it's officially your turn, Annie."

"Ah, well it doesn't really compare to being pregnant," Angelica said.

"You've been living in London, surely something exciting must have happened," Peggy deadpanned.

"Come on Annie, please?" Eliza offered up one of her trademark pleas that when she was younger she used to convince Angelica to do whatever she wanted.

Angelica sighed, "I met someone."

"A male someone?" gasped Peggy, "A big, strong, manly man?"

Angelica rolled her eyes, "Okay, enough of that. Yes, I met a man. His name is Jay and he's a banker."

"Ooo," Peggy grinned, "tell me more."

"There's not much else to tell." Angelica shrugged, "We met when I was on my first assignment and we've been seeing each other for close to a year."

"A year!" Eliza exclaimed, smacking Angelica's arm, "And you're just telling us now?"

"Well," Angelica began to blush, "I think it might actually be getting serious."

"That's wonderful, Annie," Eliza said, "I'm really happy for you."

\----------

The phone rang just as Angelica walked into the flat and she speed walked over to the kitchen to pick it up. 

"Hello hello," Angelica said. 

"Annie? It's Liza."

"Liza, hey!" greeted Angelica, "Can you hold on for a second? I need to take my work shoes off, these heels are killing me."

Eliza chuckled, "Sure."

A few minutes later, Angelica flopped down on the couch with the phone cradled between her ear and shoulder. 

"Okay," she said, "I am now shoeless and ready to talk."

"Good because I have exciting news," Eliza's voice was bubbly and bright.

"Let me guess is Philip quoting Shakespeare?" Angelica teased.

"Oh yeah, we're expecting him to move on to Dickens any day now," joked Eliza. 

Angelica giggled, while she teased she really did love the updates her sister gave about her nephew, "Alright what did you really want to tell me?"

"Well," Eliza said, drawing the word out, "you know how we have baby number two on the way?"

"How could I forget?" Angelica said, "I have gotten no less than fifty emails from Alex about it."

"Can't blame him," sighed Eliza, "but I bet he hasn't told you about the latest development. So we just found out that it's a girl."

"A girl?" Angelica gasped, "Oh, I cannot wait to spoil her rotten."

"Funny you should say that," Eliza said, "You see, Alex and I were talking and we want to name her Angelica."

Angelica nearly dropped the phone.

"Annie?"

"You're not pulling my leg are you?" Angelica asked.

"Of course not," Eliza said, "Annie, you're my older sister and honestly Alex is so in awe of you that I sometimes feel like I should be jealous."

"Oh stop it," Angelica felt tears come to her eyes.

"I want my daughter to be just like you Annie," Eliza continued.

Angelica was unable to stop the small sniffle that escaped her and she was glad that Eliza couldn't actually see her right now.

"Angelica are you still there?" Eliza asked.

"Um," Angelica cleared her throat, "yeah I'm here. I just...thank you Eliza I'm honored. Of course you can name her after me."

They chatted for a little longer before saying their goodbyes because Eliza needed to have some lunch and Angelica knew that Jay would be home soon. 

She was still sitting on the couch thinking when Jay walked through the door. 

"What a day," he sighed, flopping down beside her, one hand loosening his tie while the other came to rest on Angelica's knee, "I am knackered. What do you say we just order in a curry or something for dinner?"

Angelica wasn't really listening. Her mind was still whirring, thinking about Alex and Eliza and the life they had, thinking about what she wanted with her life. 

"Marry me."

Jay blinked. "What?"

Angelica turned to face him, "It's just...I was on the phone with Eliza and they're going to name the baby after me. And I was thinking that maybe that's something I want some day, you know? A baby, a family. I know I say the words a lot, but I really love you and it's never really felt so real to me, not like it does now. So, Jay, will you marry me?"

She was breathing slightly heavily after that long expulsion of words and the breath was stolen right back out of her when Jay leaned over to kiss her. She closed her eyes as she melted into it, laying her hands on the material of his dress shirt, loving the feel of his own hands cupping her cheeks warmly. When they broke apart, both of them were out of breath. 

"I love you, Angelica Schuyler," Jay murmured, "and it would be my absolute honor to marry you."

"Maybe we could do it now?" Angelica asked.

"Now?" Jay raised his brows.

"Why not?"

"We don't have any rings," Jay said, "or any family around or anything."

"Who cares," replied Angelica, "The only people that matter in this are right here on the couch. So why not? We'll find the nearest courthouse, drag people off the street to be witnesses if we have to. I'm not on assignment right now and I know you have vacation time saved up."

"We could go to Heathrow straight from the courthouse," Jay added, his eyes sparkling, "Pick the first flight out of the country and just go away for a week."

"Okay," Angelica was beaming, "let's go."


	3. I Won't Say I'm in Love

Peggy had always loved a party. The music and the noise and all the people just made her feel so connected with the world. That being said, she hadn't really had a huge amount of free time during the first year of her Masters and she knew that next year, the third year, she would be so focused on her thesis that she wouldn't have time then either. This year, however, she had a fairly light class load and was willing to take breaks from her thesis proposal to have some fun. Not to mention, she had a few things on her bucket list that she really wanted to accomplish. 

And tonight she had one in particular she was bent on completing, kissing a random stranger. What better place to find a random stranger to kiss than at a college party?

 

Peggy perused the crowd available to her, "Know you, know you, know you-" she murmured.

 

Peggy kept up her watch until she spotted a young man chatting with who she assumed were his friends, "Bingo," she smiled and made her way over to him.

"And that's when I said-"

Peggy tapped him on his shoulder.

"Hey," the man turned to face her but wasn't able to get much else out before Peggy kissed him full force.

When she pulled away from him, the guy blinked at her in confusion. 

"Um, hi?" he said. 

"Thanks," Peggy told him, "Enjoy the party!"

As she sauntered away, she could feel his eyes on her and she smirked to herself. Mission accomplished.

\----------

"So you looked like you were having a really good time at the party," Alice grinned.

Peggy smiled slightly, shifting her weight from one hip to the other, "Yeah I suppose so."

"Only supposing? I saw you kissing Stephen van Renneslaer," laughed Alice. 

Peggy cocked her head in confusion, "Who?"

Alice's eyes widened, "Oh my gosh, you didn't know?"

"The whole point was I wanted to kiss a stranger," Peggy rolled her eyes.

"Peggy," Alice said, "you do remember the name of this college right? Renneslaer Polytechnic? Stephen is related to the founders. And the current dean."

Peggy swallowed and began to grow very pale, "Fuck."

Alice seemed to be relishing this moment and an evil look was spreading across her face, "He's doing his bachelor's degree. Also, he's a freshman."

"Are you kidding me?" Peggy groaned.

"Nope," Alice added gleefully, "man I still can't believe you kissed the dean's son."

"Hush!" Peggy pouted.

\----------

Peggy tried to forget about what had happened. It was only a kiss, nothing too scandalous. That lasted all of half an hour before she decided that she had to find Stephen van Renneslaer, at least to apologize.

The only problem was she wasn't sure how to accomplish that without looking too strange. It wasn't like she would normally cross paths with a lot of bachelor’s students let alone freshman, and she sincerely doubted that he was in the same field as she was.

Of course, she didn't want to draw too much attention to herself by asking around for him. So it was lucky that she spotted him by chance coming out of a classroom across the hall from where she was TAing.

"Stephen!" Peggy called out.

Stephen turned around in confusion.

Peggy dashed up to him, "So I was wondering if we could talk really quickly."

"Do I know you?" Stephen asked. 

Peggy felt an undercurrent of resentment building up. Was she really that forgettable?

"Last Saturday," Peggy began, "at that party-"

Stephen's eyes went wide for a moment, "You're the girl who kissed me!"

Peggy sheepishly nodded her head.

Stephen began to laugh, "That was an interesting experience."

"Don't go getting a big head about it," Peggy grumbled, "It had nothing to do with you."

"Well it must have, considering that you kissed me," Stephen said. 

"You just had the luck of being someone I didn't already know," Peggy shot back, "You're just a check mark or my bucket list: kiss a stranger. And that's the end of our interactions."

"Then why are we talking right now?" Stephen smirked.

"Beats me," Peggy sniffed, "I need to go TA across the hall anyway. You see, I am in the second year of my masters degree and have more important things to do than talk to a freshman."

"I've always liked older women," Stephen responded with a wink. 

Peggy huffed and turned on her heel. Why did she even both explaining herself to him? She had no obligation to explain herself to anyone, let alone someone so insufferable, even if he was the dean’s son. 

\----------

Peggy needed to unwind, and the semester was winding down so she accompanied Alice to a frat party. Now Frat parties were not really Peggy's thing, but tonight she made an exception.

She and Alice met up outside the frat house and went in together. If there was one thing Peggy had learned in her years of going to parties, it was that it's always better to enter the party with someone else rather than alone. 

But that didn't mean you had to stay together so by the time Peggy had grabbed a beer, Alice had vanished.

 

She found a wall to lean against as she sipped at the can of beer, content to watch the people around her drink and dance. After her second beer, Peggy would probably join in with the dancing. She wasn't a light weight or anything, but she found that it was more fun to dance with drunk people if she had at least a slight buzz going. 

"Well well, if it isn't my mystery kisser."

Peggy jumped slightly at the sound of Stephen's voice, but recovered fairly quickly and turned to face him with a raised eyebrow. 

"I'm not yours," she told him. 

"But still a mystery," Stephen returned. 

"Whatever," Peggy rolled her eyes.

"Well I would like to point out you never told me your name," Stephen came closer.

"Not necessary yours to know," Peggy replied stiffly.

 

"Oh, come on," Stephen needled, "We got off a little bit on the wrong foot and I'm just trying to fix it."

"I already told you there is nothing else to say about you and me," Peggy replied.

"Need I remind you that you spoke to me first?" Stephen shot back.

"You are very frustrating," Peggy informed him, "Has anyone ever told you that?"

"Constantly," laughed Stephen. 

"That's not something you should be proud of," Peggy murmured.

"Whatever, Mystery Girl."

"Don't call me that," Peggy practically snapped at him.

"Then tell me your name," Stephen insisted.

"Peggy, my name is Peggy. Now will you leave me alone?"

Stephen held up his hands in surrender, but he was grinning.

"At least let me get you your second drink," he offered, "then I swear I'll be out of your gorgeous hair."

Peggy would be wrong in saying that she didn't like the way Stephen was complimenting her hair, even if it sounded rather silly, "Okay," she relented.

One drink became two and Peggy was feeling pleasantly tipsy. Surprisingly, she was also not feeling too bothered by Stephen's presence beside her.

"You know for the dean’s son you aren't so bad," Peggy smiled.

"Oh gee thanks," Stephen snorted as he sipped his beer.

"No I mean it," Peggy nodded, "you know I've known lots of guys like you and most of them are grade A assholes-"

Stephen began to laugh.

"But you, you're not so bad," she sighed, "I guess maybe it wasn't such a bad thing that I kissed you."

 

"That was actually a really good kiss," Stephen nodded.

"It was,wasn't it," Peggy mused.

"I feel kind of bad, though," continued Stephen, "I wasn't expecting it, so I couldn't really participate as much as I would have liked."

Peggy quirked an eyebrow, "Are you hinting something?"

"Maybe we could try again?" Stephen suggested.

Peggy thought for a moment, then nodded, "Alright."

And just like that Peggy Schuyler was kissing Stephen van Renneslaer for a second time, and it really was even better than the first.

She was the one who deepened the kiss, tilting her head slightly so that their noses wouldn't bump, her eyes fluttering shut as they leaned into each other.

Peggy couldn't help but let out a sigh as he wound his fingers into her curls. But when he broke it off she let out a small whine.

"Maybe we want to continue this elsewhere?" Stephen asked.

"Yeah," Peggy nodded, "sure."

\----------

Peggy fell back against the bed, breathing heavily as she came down from the rush. Beside her, Stephen was lying on his side, watching her with his head propped in his hand. 

"Damn," Peggy breathed. 

Stephen chuckled, "I second that."

Peggy looked around the room, "You know this was fun and all, but I don't think this should ever happen again."

Stephen blinked in confusion, "Um."

Peggy didn't let him answer, swinging her legs out of the bed and beginning to search for her clothes. They had ended up all over the place and she collected them as quickly as possible. Her skirt ended up backwards but she didn't notice until she was halfway back to her apartment.

\----------

Once her apartment door closed, Peggy let out a groan and pressed the heels of her hands against her eyes. 

It had been several months since she and Stephen had first slept together and she had done her best to keep away, but it was like she was magnetically drawn to him. Especially now that she was on her second semester and the due date for her thesis proposal was drawing closer and closer. She certainly hadn't meant for this to become a Thing. 

Blindly, Peggy reached for the phone on her bedside and pressed the speed dial for Eliza.

It rang a few times, Peggy groaned.

"Hello?"

Peggy let out a sigh at the sound of her older sister's voice, "Oh thank god you're home."

"I don't exactly get out much these days," Eliza laughed.

"I need your advice," Peggy said. 

"Of course," Eliza replied, "What's wrong?"

Peggy cringed. "Okay, so don't judge me, but..."

"Oh no, Peggy. Did you sleep with that guy again?"

Peggy was silent for long enough that Eliza sighed. 

"Peggy..."

 

"Okay fine!" Peggy whined.

"I thought you were done with this," Eliza replied, "you told me you were done with this."

"I know," Peggy groaned, "and I was done with it, but I am just so stressed right now. I have a month to finish my proposal and if I faint that then I have to start over again and it's just...sex, you know? It feels good and that's all."

"Mmhm." Eliza didn't sound convinced.

"Please don't get all judgy," Peggy frowned, "I don't need this right now."

"I'm not judging," Eliza insisted, "I just think that this whole friends with benefits thing you have going on might be a little bit more than that."

Peggy sat up sharply. 

"What?" she said, feeling herself getting flustered, "No. No no no. Sure the guy is attractive, I mean you could cut glass on those hip bones, but it's just physical."

"Mmhm..." There was a hint of laughter in Eliza's tone now.

"Oh come on you can't possibly think..." Peggy's voice trailed off, "No way."

"I think you may have some things to think about," Eliza told her sister gently. 

"This is so hard," Peggy whined, "I can't be in love with Stephen!"

"Breathe," Eliza said, "Just breathe. A crush and being in love are two very different things. If you think you like the guy, then you have to tell him and talk it out. Let's not make any giant leaps, okay?"

"Okay," Peggy agreed softly, "Damn it. I don't need this stress right now."

"You gonna be okay?" Eliza asked.

"Not at the moment," Peggy rubbed her temple, "but I guess I will be."

"Well I think I know just the thing that will make you feel better," Eliza said with a laugh.

"Oh I seriously doubt-"

Eliza's voice was replaced by what could only be the sound of her nephew Phillip and Peggy began to perk up, even if it was only a little bit.

\----------

Peggy might be a week closer to her proposal deadline, but she was also more confident in what she wanted from Stephen. The hardest part was yet to come: talking to him.

"Peggy!"

Peggy turned to see Stephen coming towards her. She smiled at him and lifted up her coffee in greeting. Peggy had asked him to meet her at one of the coffee shops just off campus. When he had gotten his own cup of coffee, Stephen sat across from her at the table. 

"So," he said, "I was kind of surprised that you invited me for coffee. It's not exactly our MO."

"Yeah well..." Peggy tucked a curl behind her ear, "I was wondering if maybe we could talk about that?"

Stephen's spine straightened at the tone of her voice, "Okay. Hit me."

"It's not that I haven't been enjoying our time together," Peggy started, "I've just been thinking that I might want more than just no-strings-attached sex. I think I might want a few strings."

Peggy watched as Stephen furrowed his brow.

"Great I just screwed this up," Peggy thought to herself.

The more time Stephen stayed silent the more Peggy wanted to retreat into a hole and never leave.

"You sure about this?" Stephen asked.

Peggy nodded.

"Good, that actually takes quite a load off my chest," Stephen let out a deep sigh.

Peggy was still confused, "I...don't understand."

"I've wanted to ask you out for ages," Stephen said, "but I thought that you didn't want something like that. I was willing to keep things as they were because I like being with you. I like it when we have a chance to talk and not just diving into bed right away."

Peggy began to blush, "I do too."

"So we're on the same page?" Stephen asked.

"It would seem so," Peggy replied. 

"And you don't care that I'm six years younger than you, you cougar," Stephen teased. 

Peggy grinned and kicked him under the table.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A happy birthday to our own Peggy @FanGirl1993 who inspired this fic with her love of hipbones and having "Kissing a Stranger" on her bucket list.


End file.
